St. Augustine, also known as, Saint Austin, Saint Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, and Saint Augustine the Blessed (354-430 C.E.) was one of the towering figures of mid evil philosophy. His work and way of thought endure still today. Christianity largely influenced by Platonic ideas, he brought together the ideas of Plato and Christianity. He saw no real difference between Plato's philosophy and Christianity. He felt within himself that there was no limit to how far philosophy could go.
Biography
Augustine was born in a little town of Tagaste(now Algeria) in North Africa on November 13, 354 C.E. He was not a Christian his whole life, however. He examined several different religions and philosophies before settling on becoming a Christian. For example; for a period of time, St. Augustine was Manichean, meaning, that he believed in a dualism between good and evil, light and dark, spirit and matter. He eventually became disappointed in this religion, although he was a supporter until 384.
Major works
Augustine was admired for not only his vast collection of works, but the variety of them. His works were very influential in Western Christianity. He is probably best known for his Confessions--a first hand account of his youth.
Some of his major works include:
-Confessions -City of God -The Literal Meaning of Genesis -On Free Choice of Will -On Christian Doctrine
Philosophy
Saint Augustine's philosophy incorporated Christian doctrine with Neoplatanism. He believed reason to be uniquely human. Additionally, he believed time is nothing in reality, but only exists in the mind, also that time can not be infinite because God "created" it.In addition to his philosophy on time, Augustine tries to reconcile his beliefs of free will, he believed that humans are morally responsible for their actions. Originally, He was optimistic about humans acting morally, but he soon realized originally sin hindered and made it nearly impossible for humans to act moral and responsible.
Saint Augustine also believed that the grace of God was indispensable to freedom in which he framed original sin, the state of sin that, according to Christian philosophy, characterizes human beings as the result of Adam's fall, and just war, that a conflict can and should meet the criteria of philosophical, religious, or political justice.
Quotes
-"Even if I am mistaken, I am."
-"A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently."
-"Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked."
-"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation"
Interesting Facts
-Augustine’s Confessions was the first autobiography ever written.
-One of Augustine’s duties as bishop of Hippo was to arbitrate lawsuits.
- He lived almost entirely on vegetables.
- He composed a song he titled “An ABC against the Donatists,”. It went Platinum!(:
Bibliography
"Saint Augustine." The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays & Summaries. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/>.
"Biography of Saint Augustine." Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More... Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.essortment.com/>.
Saint Augustine
Introduction
St. Augustine, also known as, Saint Austin, Saint Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, and Saint Augustine the Blessed (354-430 C.E.) was one of the towering figures of mid evil philosophy. His work and way of thought endure still today. Christianity largely influenced by Platonic ideas, he brought together the ideas of Plato and Christianity. He saw no real difference between Plato's philosophy and Christianity. He felt within himself that there was no limit to how far philosophy could go.
Biography
Augustine was born in a little town of Tagaste(now Algeria) in North Africa on November 13, 354 C.E. He was not a Christian his whole life, however. He examined several different religions and philosophies before settling on becoming a Christian. For example; for a period of time, St. Augustine was Manichean, meaning, that he believed in a dualism between good and evil, light and dark, spirit and matter. He eventually became disappointed in this religion, although he was a supporter until 384.
Major works
Augustine was admired for not only his vast collection of works, but the variety of them. His works were very influential in Western Christianity. He is probably best known for his Confessions--a first hand account of his youth.
Some of his major works include:
-Confessions
-City of God
-The Literal Meaning of Genesis
-On Free Choice of Will
-On Christian Doctrine
Philosophy
Saint Augustine's philosophy incorporated Christian doctrine with Neoplatanism. He believed reason to be uniquely human. Additionally, he believed time is nothing in reality, but only exists in the mind, also that time can not be infinite because God "created" it.In addition to his philosophy on time, Augustine tries to reconcile his beliefs of free will, he believed that humans are morally responsible for their actions. Originally, He was optimistic about humans acting morally, but he soon realized originally sin hindered and made it nearly impossible for humans to act moral and responsible.
Saint Augustine also believed that the grace of God was indispensable to freedom in which he framed original sin, the state of sin that, according to Christian philosophy, characterizes human beings as the result of Adam's fall, and just war, that a conflict can and should meet the criteria of philosophical, religious, or political justice.
Quotes
-"Even if I am mistaken, I am."
-"A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently."
-"Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked."
-"Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation"
Interesting Facts
-Augustine’s Confessions was the first autobiography ever written.
-One of Augustine’s duties as bishop of Hippo was to arbitrate lawsuits.
- He lived almost entirely on vegetables.
- He composed a song he titled “An ABC against the Donatists,”. It went Platinum!(:
Bibliography
"Saint Augustine." The Literature Network: Online Classic Literature, Poems, and Quotes. Essays & Summaries. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.online-literature.com/>.
"Biography of Saint Augustine." Essortment Articles: Free Online Articles on Health, Science, Education & More... Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.essortment.com/>.
"Works of Saint Augustine of Hippo." NEW ADVENT: Home. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/>.
Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie's World: a Novel about the History of Philosophy. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1994. Print.
"Augustine(354-430)." The University of Tennessee at Martin - Http:www.utm.edu. Web. 20 Mar. 2011. <http://www.utm.edu/>.
Merriam-Webster's Deluxe Dictionary.// Pleasantville, NY: Reader's Digest, 1998. Print.